Instant lottery tickets (e.g., “scratch-off” lottery tickets) are sold at many types of retail locations including, stores, such as grocery stores, general merchandise stores, and the like. Various configurations of lottery ticket dispensers have been proposed in the industry for this purpose, including electronic dispensers that automatically dispense a ticket from a bin or compartment upon receipt of an electronic command signal.
It is generally desired to locate the ticket dispensers at or close to the check-out counter or station at the various retail locations because the ticket purchase and dispense process is typically the responsibility of the clerk or other employee at such location. For this reason, the ticket dispensers are generally located on or under the counter adjacent the check-out register so as to be readily accessible by the clerk. However, space (e.g. “real estate”) on or near the check-out counter is extremely limited and valuable, and it is disadvantageous to the retailer to use such space unnecessarily for lottery game components.
Conventional electronic lottery ticket dispensers are configured with a controller or control terminal that is remote from the physical ticket array and connected to the array via power and/or data lines. Such controllers or terminals must also be readily accessible to the clerk or other employee and are thus also generally located on or near the check-out register counter, which only further exacerbates the space issue.
It would be beneficial to the industry and retailers to provide a more versatile lottery ticket dispenser array system having a minimal space footprint at or near the check-out register.